Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello, I’m Georgie, I’m a General Practitioner (GP, or Family Doctor) in the Northeast of England. I’ve always been interested in the role of place and environment on patient stories, and it has been fascinating to hear from the communities in which I work how fundamental a role nature has played in shaping our region. As well as my clinical work as a GP, I have also had a role as a Physical Activity Clinical Champion with Sport England and Sheffield Hallam University for the last five years. And my own relationship with sport and movement (I’m in the North Sea year round as a SUP surf- and paddleboarder) has led to a deep connection with coast and nature in the northeast of England. In 2020 this, along with my involvement in Planetary Health and sustainable healthcare led me to co-found Healthcare Ocean (HCO) with a small group of like-minded clinicians.
What is your own involvement with nature-based therapy, either as a practitioner or scientists?
I’ve been involved in nature-based therapy in a number of different ways over the last six years. This has ranged from a non-clinical capacity through hands-on volunteering in surf-based therapy projects for underserved groups, to ensuring inclusion of nature and biodiversity criteria in the writing and development of regional National Health Service Integrated Care System green plans. Through HCO it has been possible to increase awareness that oceans and water systems are not left behind in the drive towards healthcare sustainability and this has led to fascinating work that has ranged from developing an education module based on the recommendations of the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity with the centre for sustainable healthcare, to involvement in an art exhibition at Bristol University Medical School that encouraged an enquiry into the links between water systems and health. Clinically as a Family Doctor I find that patients bring discussions about what nature means to them into the consultation most days – whether in terms of their employment, what used to bring them joy, or how they are managing their own long-term conditions and wellbeing. Empowering people to feel confident that connection and movement in nature where they live can also be part of their health and wellbeing is really rewarding as a clinician.
Do you have an example of your own NbT work that you would like to highlight?
The hands-on work as a volunteer practitioner has definitely been a highlight as it has been crucial to my understanding not just the benefits of NbTs to patients directly, but also to listening and hearing some of the challenges to NbT programmes. I’ve learnt so much and I hope to be able to undertake more NbT practitioner roles moving forwards. It was really inspiring to see the outcomes of the UK 2-year government green prescribing projects, as well as so many of the patient testimonials from their involvement in NbT programmes in the UK. But I think that a real highlight has probably been the work I undertook with Natural England to upscale brief, patient-centered conversations about the benefits to health from nature at the point of clinical care. Developing a green and blue space section in the services directory for our regional ‘Make Every Contact Count‘ platform was a small but significant step forward in the recognition and prioritisation of nature as a determinant of health, and in supporting people to thrive. It also embedded conversations about nature in an existing and evaluated training programme and provided a mechanism to share nature-based opportunities in our region.
What makes you excited about the RESONATE project?
I’m really glad to be involved in the RESONATE project for a number of reasons, especially because of the collaborative approach and the experts involved. In particular I’m interested in the project’s concept of nature-based Biopsychosocial Resilience Theory (NRBT) and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to examine this as a healthcare professional from both the level of individual and community. But the opportunity to hear from the different communities and practitioners involved in the case studies is also really exciting to me, especially as this is a Europe wide project.
Where do you see some of the greatest or perhaps untapped potential for nature-based therapy?
I’m really excited that RESONATE has taken a joined-up approach that includes looking at both NbT and Nature Based Solutions (NbS) as part of the project. I’ve always seen this as an area of untapped potential, and I’m excited to see how NbTs can thrive within a whole systems approach that can benefit both humans and nature. In the UK I think that there is also potential for the inclusion of the health benefits of NbTs in Natural Capital evaluations to further optimize how we value nature. Looking further ahead in a rapidly changing and digital world, the benefits of healthcare interventions that involve human connection feel more important than ever. Moving forward, the human elements of NbTs, and their potential role in a Just Transition is also really interesting to me.
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